Mehta: Jets can't afford to make boneheaded mistakes like the one Darron Lee and Parry Nickerson made against Vikings

There’s no shame in losing to a better team, but it’s inexcusable to make boneheaded mistakes that have nothing to do with the quality of your opponent.

Case in point: The Jets blew a golden opportunity to claw back into the game Sunday before the Vikings pulled away.

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Perhaps the most important play in Gang Green’s 37-17 loss happened late in the third quarter when linebacker Darron Lee’s and rookie cornerback Parry Nickerson’s poor awareness costly their team dearly.

“We got to play all the way through (the whistle),” Todd Bowles said Monday after watching the film of the game. “Obviously, we can’t relax.”

Todd Bowles. (Steven Ryan / Getty Images)

The Jets trailed 20-10 with 1:55 left in the third quarter when Kirk Cousins practically gift-wrapped the ball on his backwards pass toward a covered Stephon Diggs. The Vikings quarterback’s attempt to dirt it was clearly thrown behind the line of scrimmage at Minnesota’s 33-yard line.

And the officials clearly didn’t blow the whistle to signal the play dead.

Lee gave up on the play and didn’t make a move toward the ball. Nickerson made perhaps the most egregious blunder given that he had a clear look at the backwards pass AND was closest to the ball. It could have been an easy scoop and score for a touchdown. At worst, Nickerson would have recovered the ball around the Minnesota 25-yard line to give the Jets a great opportunity to get into the endzone to cut the deficit to 20-17 with one quarter to play.

Instead, the rookie didn’t even look at the ball until he noticed Diggs’ moving toward it. Nickerson dove and got his hands on the ball first, but couldn’t secure it. Then, Diggs recovered it at the 26-yard line.

It was a massive brain cramp by both Jets defenders.

“I know those guys learned from that situation the moment it happened,” veteran cornerback Mo Claiborne said. “I hate that it took that situation to happen like that for guys – and us as a whole – to learn from it. Because we all should have been running to the ball. It’s not just on Parry or it’s not just on D-Lee. It should have been all of us as a unit.”

Claiborne was about 13 yards away. Jamal Adams was about 15 yards away.

“I was close to the ball myself,” Claiborne said. “If I would have kept running to it, maybe I would have gotten it. So, you just can’t put the blame on just one… If all of us were running to the ball, maybe somebody else would have covered for those guys. It’s a good situation to learn from.… You hate that we didn’t get it this time, but maybe the next time it comes up, we’ll handle it the right way.”

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The Jets don’t have enough talent to overcome mistakes like that one. When a superior team is feeling generous, you say, ‘Thank you,’ and take their offer. The Jets aren’t good enough to blow chances like that.